What does "darkly" mean?
Relating to darkness or obscurity.
Darkly
/ˈdɑːkli/ adj, adv
adj, adv ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Relating to darkness or obscurity.
- Grammar: darkly is listed as adj, adv.
- Nearest alternatives: darkling, dimly, faintly, gothically wato.
- Useful contrasts: aglow, brightly, brilliantly.
- Usage evidence: When most I wink, then do my eyes best see, for all the day they view things unrespected, but when I sleep, in dreams they look on thee and darkly bright are bright in dark directed.
How to use "darkly"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "darkly" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "darkly" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "darkly" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "darkly" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "darkly" is acting as adj, adv in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "darkling" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "darkly", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Relating to darkness or obscurity. poetic
"A Scanner Darkly"
Adverb
- 1 With insufficient light for easy discernment or comprehension.
"I could make out his image darkly."
- 2 With a dark appearance.
"And still when loudliest howls the storm, / And darkliest lowers his native sky, / The king's fierce soul is in that form, / The warrior's spirit threatens nigh!"
- 3 In a manner which is not readily visible or noticeable; inconspicuously. figuratively
"Set defenses permitted a coach to plan an attack with scant worry as to where he would find the offensive men. So our Tom Reilly schemed darkly and came up with the attack which pried apart the Brown Bowlers. His scheme was to double team every man in the defensive line by employing one back as an eighth lineman and spreading the enemy further by posting a wingback outside the strong end of an unbalanced line which had five men on this side of center."
- 4 In a manner which retards or prevents discernment; clandestinely. figuratively
"His secret wooing of the Norman lady who was so proud and stately was very dear to him, and the romance of it pleased him even more than the mere material joys he hoped some day to gain from it. Proud as she was, womanlike she at least deigned to listen to him, and his crafty brain schemed darkly to take opportunity as it came, and make her his own by treachery."
- 5 In a manner which is difficult to understand, or which retards or prevents understanding; incomprehensibly. figuratively
"Secondly, The Covenant was then revealed more darkly and obſcurely, but now the diſpenſation of it, is more cleare and evident: the light is now marvellous, it is as the Sunne ſhining at noone-day. […] Though it was revealed before, yet it was but darkly, but now it is revealed more clearly ſince the coming of our Saviour Chriſt; […]"
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 In a manner which tends to produce uncertainty or confusion; bewilderingly. figuratively
"Here, as Genevieve sat musing, in apparent slumber, on her situation of peril, and her hope of liberty, her sentinels, who had hitherto walked at a surly distance from her, now chanced to pass nearer; and she heard one of them say, “She sleeps, thou need'st not whisper; -I tell thee it must be done to-night.” “What must be done?” said his companion, “for hitherto thou hast spoken thy purpose darkly.”—“The queen must be removed this night,” said the other. “Here have been missives from the bishop, who, amid the thunders of the siege, found leisure to receive and answer the letters of King Philip, touching the matter of the queen's thraldom, and to send the order thou wottest of, and which must be suddenly obeyed.”"
- 7 In a manner which produces an inward conviction of future misfortune; ominously. figuratively
"But the God I had cried to answer me / When my destiny darkliest frowned, / And He showed me a reef of rocks in the sea, / Whereunto I clung, and there I found / On a coral jag the goblet of gold, / Which else to the lowermost crypt had rolled."
- 8 In a morbid manner; morbidly, sinisterly. figuratively
"a darkly comic dystopian drama"
Adverb
- 1 without light wordnet
- 2 in a dark glowering menacing manner wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"When most I wink, then do my eyes best see, for all the day they view things unrespected, but when I sleep, in dreams they look on thee and darkly bright are bright in dark directed."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "darkly"?
Common synonyms include: darkling, dimly, faintly, gothically wato, grimly, in darkness.
How do you use "darkly" in a sentence?
When most I wink, then do my eyes best see, for all the day they view things unrespected, but when I sleep, in dreams they look on thee and darkly bright are bright in dark directed.
How do you pronounce "darkly"?
Pronounced /ˈdɑːkli/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English derkly, derkely, derkliche, derkeliche; equivalent to dark + -ly. Compare Old English deorclīċe, a parallel formation.
Etymology 2
From Middle English derkely, equivalent to dark + -ly.